FAT BASTARD - Pinot Noir, France

FAT BASTARD - PINOT NOIR ROUGE

An amazing full bodied flavor. Intense, cherry red in colour, with fruit-forward flavors of crushed strawberry and wild raspberry followed by delicate tannins and a long, smooth finish. Fat Bastard Pinot Noir is a brilliant expression of the land from which it is made. As a result, this wine is crisp, fresh, with higher acid, and less alcohol, with more mineral characters.

Vintage in image may vary. Refer to wine facts for current vintage.

CLUB MEMBERRM80.00

VINEYARD

1936 . 1990
Gabriel Meffre (1908-1987) & his wife found Maison Gabriel Meffre, Négociant-Producer in Gigondas, and buy their first vineyards in Gigondas. They invest in the vineyards in the Rhône Valley and Provence until the early 80s. With 800ha of vineyards, they gradually became the number one AOC wine producer in France. The winery produces and sells wines from the Meffre Estates. The famous Gabriel Meffre branded lorries travel all over France and as far as Switzerland to supply wholesalers.

1990 . 1999
A new growth strategy is launched when Bertrand Bonnet becomes CEO. He foresees the market’s evolution to better quality wines and makes significant changes to the company: developing export markets, creating strong brands, investing in up-to-date equipments. Long based in the Rhône Valley, the Winery also build new partnerships with winemakers in the Languedoc to provide ranges of varietal wines from the Oc region.

1999 . 2009
As a "return to the roots", the Winery invests in vineyards: Domaine de Longue Toque in Gigondas (27ha) and Château Grand Escalion near Nîmes (44ha). Both vineyards are based on the principle of "integrated viticulture" with the aim of significantly reducing our impact on the environment. The Winery has been ISO 9002 & 9001, BRC and ISF certified.
Since 2001, Domaine de Longue Toque and Château Grand Escalion have been awarded the Terra Vitis – Integrated Viticulture Label, that is renewed annually.

2009 . 2015
Eric Brousse, a well-known personality in the wine sector, takes over the Winery. He builds a fresh and ambitious vision with the teams in place to make Gabriel Meffre one of the benchmark owners-négociants in the Rhône Valley.
In 2011, Sustainable Development is made a long-term company policy. Devoted to high quality since the 90s, the Winery wants to make a new step and launches its Corporate Social Responsibility procedure (CSR).
In 2015, the Winery achieved “level 3 – confirmed” (out of 4) of the AFAQ 26000 evaluation, recognising a high level of maturity in environmental, social and economic issues. Maison Gabriel Meffre is now one of the top responsible wineries in France.

In June 2015, Gabriel Meffre was named a “responsible company” for its voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) procedure when it “passed” level 3 of 4 in the AFAQ 26 000 evaluation. Being recognised for our environmental, social and economic contribution is the fruit of all our employees constantly adapting and working on a business project that began in 2011. What makes it even more remarkable is that Gabriel Meffre is one of few wineries in the South of France to be evaluated thus far

Wine facts

Total Production:

150,000 bottles

Winemarkers:

Véronique Torcolacci

Producer:

Gabriel Meffre Winery

Variant:

750 ml

Average Age of Vines:

10-20 years

Average Vineyard Altitude:

100-200 meters

Harvest Method:

Mecanical

Sorting:

The Pinot Noir grapes are harvested at optimum maturity. Then they pass through the crusher-destemmer.

Fermentation and Maceration:

Fermentation of the juices with two pumping-overs a day during around one week. A period of maceration occurs under controlled temperature at 27°C to extract the best of the aromas.

Aging:

1/4 of the wine is aged for 6 to 10 months in oak before blending and bottling.